Oh The Confusion
by Nano Rain
Summary: If anyone would somehow wind up in the Naruto World, she did not think it would be her. Well- she'd never actually thought about it before, after all it's her daughter that lives for that stuff. Now not only must she figure out how she managed to get there, she has to find her way back. Meanwhile, her daughter is left home alone with a lost ninja to babysit her.


**Nano Rain: Eh, this came to me randomly, I don't think it'll be that long of a story (maybe four or five chapters) but I think I'll make a sequal for it (assuming I decide to finish this.) I may or may not continue with this, but I'd like some feedback. (Polite feedback.) Did it bore you? Did it interest you? Thoughts? Suggestions/Ideas? Questions?  
I have no intentions of having pairings.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Monopoly or anything else I might have mentioned that I obviously do not own.  
Thanks to anyone who has decided to read this. **

* * *

As usual, Kim woke up to the sound of her alarm. She rolled over and groaned as something sharp poked her side. Did she sleep on a pretzel? Opening her eyes she winced at the sudden bright light. The smell of fresh grass froze her. Her eyes widened, taking in the scene. It was not, in fact, her alarm clock that woke her. Instead a few yards away perched on a _tree_ was a big, black, crow. What she was lying on was not her mattress, but a bed of grass.

As it all sunk in she sat up with a gasp. "Where the heck am I?" she screamed. She lived in a big city; there were only oh so many places this big with nothing but trees, grass, and animals. She wondered if it had anything to do with her job at the zoo. Had she fallen asleep at work and tossed into an enclosure as a prank? Hopefully there weren't any lions about… But even this was a bit large for an enclosure.

She got to her feet, and realized she wasn't in her work clothes, or even her pajamas. She was wearing a simple white shirt with khaki shorts. She could feel something in her pocket. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a folded piece of paper.

As she unfolded it, she noticed her hands were shaking. Of course, inwardly she was having a panic attack. Nervously, she shook her head. Opening up the piece of paper she was surprised to see a small picture of herself in the corner. Her long blond hair was straightened nice and neat. Her eyes scanned over the words, until she realized she couldn't read them. They looked like Asian characters, maybe Japanese if her daughter's obsession with it meant anything. She wrinkled her nose. "Some good this is." She shoved it back into her pocket and took a look around.

In one direction there were lots of trees. In the other direction she could spot a river in the distance, with a few trees scattered here and there. Her first priority was to find civilization. According to her knowledge, if you follow a river, it will eventually lead to people.

Her toes flexed against her sandals, and she wished she had some tennis shoes. It would be much more suitable for a hike. "Hopefully when this is over I won't be in such bad shape I'll wind up on one of those 'I survived' shows," she grumbled under her breath.

She began trekking towards the river. Her thoughts swirled with questions. What happened? Why was she here? Where _was_ here? And where was her daughter? Hopefully the answer to that question is home safe playing with the cat.

As she walked she stared at her shoes. They looked familiar. Like those cosplay shoes her daughter always wanted. She shook her head. Why was she having weird thoughts like that? Kim's stomach growled. She frowned, wishing she had something to eat. "Breakfast would be so nice…"

And she walked. And walked. And walked some more. By the time the sun was directly above her she decided to take a break. She sat under the shade of the tree and mentally debated whether or not the water was safe to drink. Unfortunately she knew nothing about cleaning water, except boiling it, and she had nothing to boil it in. At last her dry tongue and sweat pouring down her body convinced her to take a drink. _Don't think about what fish do in that water…_ she told herself.

Cupping the water in her hands she gulped it down until her thirst was quenched. "Ah. I needed that," she said aloud. The taste wasn't too bad. Not like tap water or bottled water. Not something she'd want to have to drink a lot. But at least it was water.

Sitting back under the tree again she leaned against the bark and closed her eyes. Maybe this was all a dream. It was a laughable notion by now, that something like this could be a dream. No, she was sure it was real. The biggest question she had now was just when she was going to come across a city. Or even a town. Even a single, little farmhouse would be good.

"Hello there," a male voice said from beside her. Her heart skipped a beat and she jumped into the air with a shriek.

She gasped for breath, trying to recover from the shock. "Who… Who… Who are you?" she finally managed. She blinked hard and turned to see who the mysterious stranger was.

"Me? I'd like to know who you are first if you don't mind," he replied with a blink. But she couldn't speak. She was too puzzled. This person… No… Could he really be?

_Kakashi or something…._ She thought. The one character she kind of liked from that dumb anime her daughter always watched. Maybe he was a cosplayer?

Straightening up and calming down, she cleared her throat. "My name is Kim."

"Kim…?" His one visible eyebrow furrowed. "Interesting name."

"So… Who are you?" she questioned cautiously.

"Oh, right. I'm Kakashi." He could still be a cosplayer… Inwardly she laughed; realizing her chances of finding a cosplayer in the middle of nowhere was pretty slim. If not plain impossible.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked.

"I'm lost," she replied.

His one eye gazed her. She couldn't even begin to guess what he was thinking. Maybe he thought she was suspicious or something?

"Well in that case, would you like me to take you to the nearest village?" He paused, scratching his chin. "I can get you there, but I can't guarantee you can get in unless you have all your paper with you?"

"Paper?" she asked, wondering if it could possibly be the one in her pocket.

"Yes. The one with proof of your identity and where you come from and what?" She felt her blood rushing through her head with excitement.

She took out the piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. "Is this it?" she asked hopefully. Maybe he would even read it for her.

He scanned over it before handing it to her with what she thought was a smile. "Yes, that's the one Miss Kimiko." Kimiko? Is that some Japanese name?

"Just Kim is fine," Kim muttered.

"Right. Why didn't you say you came from the Leaf Village? I'm a shinobi from there," he asked casually.

She shrugged. "I didn't know how far away it was. I just wanted to get to a city."

He looked at her strange and she couldn't figure out why. Then she remembered him saying 'Leaf Village' and remembered how this anime world didn't have any cities or something like that.

"Alright then… Anyway, it's a long way there, would you mind if I carried you? I was returning from a mission and I'm a bit of a hurry."

She shrugged, and then nodded. She didn't really want to be carried, but if that was the only way… She'd put up with just about anything.

She gasped in surprise as she was suddenly scooped up and carried away at inhumanly fast speeds.

* * *

Mag woke to someone shaking her shoulder. She groaned and rolled over.

"Um… Excuse me," a strange voice said from above. Her eyes shot open and stared up into emerald eyes.

_Am I still dreaming?_ She thought. This person had _pink_ hair. In fact… She looked just like…..

_Sakura?_ She bolted upright, smacking into the girl's head. Mag held her face in pain. "Oh, _ow_. I'm so sorry!"

"I-It's okay. You probably didn't expect to see a stranger in your home," the possible-cosplayer replied. "My name's Sakura Haruno and I'm sorry to wake you. Well, you probably want to know why I'm in your house…"

Yes, Mag did want to know why this Kunoichi was in her house. But she wanted to know a lot of things. She could only nod.

"Well, I don't really know. I just know I woke up a few minutes ago in a strange bed with a cat hissing at me."

_Poor Shi-chan must have been so scared. Wait… Strange bed? Then where's my mom!_

"Anyway, I'll be happy to leave but first could you tell me where I am? I looked out the window but I don't recognize anything."

Dumbly, Mag just nodded, still awed by the shinobi. Finally she snapped herself out of it. "Uh… You're in Colorado."

"Colo… Rado? I've never heard of that place. Which Nation is it?"

Mag bit her lip. How could she break it to this ninja that wasn't in Konoha anymore? "America."

Now Sakura just frowned. "Are you… Okay? I've never heard of those places before. Do you know where Konoha is?"

Mag shook her head, deciding now was the time to tell Sakura there was no such place. Then an idea formed in her head. "There's no such place. Look… Sakura. Villages like that don't exist anymore. I think I've heard of that place, but in my history books."

"You're kidding! There's no way!" She stepped back, her eyes showing her confusion.

"I'm not joking," Mag replied defensively. She felt guilty about lying, but it would probably simplify things. She's not sure how well Sakura would take being a character from some anime. Then she put on her best acting face and looked at Sakura with false amazement. "Could that mean… You come from the past!"

Sakura blinked. "I… I guess so."

"Then you probably don't have anywhere to stay." Sakura nodded.

"If what you say is true, then I guess I really don't have a place in this… time."

Mag gave the girl a shy smile. "My mom is… Gone for a while. But I'm sure she wouldn't mind you staying here." Speaking of her mom, where was she? Surely she was okay… Probably had to get up early for work or something. There's no way she could have gone to the Naruto world… Right?

"Really? I mean, you don't even know me, are you sure it's okay?" Mag nodded confidently.

"Of course. It's not every day you meet someone from the past after all."

Sakura laughed. "That's true."

Mag looked down and realized she was still in her pajamas. She blushed. "Well, um, Sakura, do you think you could leave for a little bit? I'm going to get dressed and stuff. Help yourself to anything you find in the kitchen." Sakura nodded and left, graceful as, well, a ninja.

Mag got up and picked out some random shirt and shorts to wear and threw them on. While she was at it she picked up her room a little bit. It was a real mess, but she never had anyone over and her mom didn't really care if it was a little messy. What must have Sakura thought when she saw this… Mag snorted as she figured just what Sakura would have thought. _'What a mess! This looks like Naruto's house!'_ Mag rolled her eyes. At least she didn't have heaps of trash and roaches. When she was done she grabbed her phone and went off in search of Sakura.

She found her sitting on the couch across from the kitchen. She was staring curiously out the window. Cars zoomed by below. She looked over to Mag as she came in. "It really is the future… Isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm Mag by the way, I don't think I introduced myself."

Sakura tilted her head. "Mag? I guess names have evolved a lot, huh?"

Mag nodded. "In some places. Others still have names like yours," she answered. _Like Japan._ "But I think your name is really pretty. I'm named after a bird called a magpie."

"Thanks. I think your name is pretty too." _Yeah, pretty strange._ Mag smiled back at her anyway.

"I'm going to call my friend really quick, I'll be right back." _I need to tell someone about her. Who better than Ray, the one and only? She doesn't even like Naruto. She probably won't care._

"Call?" Oh, right. Technology. Mag held up her phone.

"This. I can use it to speak to my friends and family."

"Wow! So it's like the ear pieces we use on missions."

Mag smiled, though Sakura couldn't see. "Missions? Are you a ninja then!" Mag turned to face Sakura.

Sakura grinned. "Yeah! I sure am! I'm nothing special with ninjutsu, but I sure pack a punch and I'm good with medical ninjutsu."

"No way! That's awesome!" She could tell Sakura was loving the compliments by her glowing face. "Be right back."

She went into her room and closed the door. It would probably be bad if Sakura overheard her.

Instead of texting Ray she clicked the call button. Something she would almost never do willingly because of just how crazy Ray was. But Ray might not believe her if she told her by text.

It ringed twice before a sleepy voice answered with a slurred hello. "Ray! Ray! Ray! Ray! Ray!"

The phone erupted in giggles. For some reason the girl always laughed whenever Mag tried to call her. That's why she didn't. Ray claimed Mag's voice sounded funny over the phone. But Mag couldn't believe that her voice sounded _that_ funny.

"_Ray_!"

"_What?"_ the other girl groaned. "I heard you the first Ray." Ray snorted, holding back another fit of giggles.

"_Sakura Haruno_ is in my _house_!" She whispered Sakura's name excitedly.

"Who?" Mag face palmed.

"She's a character from Naruto. But she's real! Live and breathing! On my couch!"

"Sounds like a nice dream."

"Come over! Like, right now!"

Ray moaned. "It's so _early_,"she whined. "Let me go ask."

The phone went silent. A minute later Ray picked up again. "My dad says he'll drive over in an hour. But I have to leave by two for band practice."

"Okay, see you then." There were more giggles on the other end of the phone. She hung up.

She returned to the living room-kitchen combo area to find Sakura cooking eggs. Her mouth watered at the smell.

"Hey there, done with your call?" Sakura asked. Mag nodded.

"Are you making eggs?"

"Yeah. You don't mind do you? I haven't eaten in forever. I think so anyway. One second I was the middle of a mission and the next I was here, asleep…"

Mag's interest was piqued by Sakura's description of how she wound up here. "I don't mind. Really?"

"Yeah. I wonder if somehow our enemy could have cast a jutsu to send me here."

"Who knows?" Sakura flipped two perfect fried eggs onto two plates. She handed one to Mag. "Oh, thanks! These look great!" She herself would have wound up destroying the eggs. Mag couldn't cook to save her life.

They sat at the table together devouring their little breakfast. Mag loved eggs. They were such a great food and could be prepared in so many ways. She loved them every single way…

"Eggs are truly a miracle food." Sakura laughed.

"Um, I guess so." Mag had so many questions, and she knew Sakura probably did too. And yet, the two ate in silence.

When they were done they put their dishes in the sink and sat down in the living room.

Sakura wasn't her favorite character, not even a little. But at least she was pretty nice, even if she did have a small obsession with the color pink. Must be because it goes with her hair. Mag sat quietly, trying to think of what to say to her. Then her thoughts turned to her mom.

Where was she? It was almost eleven; she'd be home in two hours if she was at work. But Mag was almost certain that her mom didn't have work today. It was really worrying her. _Oh, duh. Why didn't I just call her?_ She took out her phone and sent her mom a text. Now she just had to-

There was a ding in the other room as her mom's phone received the text. Now she was _really_ worried. Her mom never went _anywhere_ without her phone. She and her phone were practically joined at the hip.

Sakura momentarily glanced towards the other room, and then faced Mag. "So who did you call earlier?"

Mag shifted into a more comfortable position, looking around for the remote. "My friend. She's coming over later."

"Oh…?"

"Yeah. We had plans to hang out and stuff."

"I see." I could tell she was a bit nervous, so I gave her a smile.

"Don't worry, she's not so bad. I guess she's a little crazy, but you can probably handle it. We're just going to be bored anyway."

Sakura laughed. "Bored?"

Mag nodded. "We'll just sit around till we think of something to do. She'll probably have to leave before that happens."

"I see." Silence filled the room. Eventually changed position and cleared her throat. "So earlier you were surprised I was ninja. Are there no ninja in the future?"

"Yup," Mag said shaking her head. "We have people kind of like ninja, but they're nothing like the real thing I bet."

"I can't believe it. A world without ninja… Does that mean you've achieved world peace?"

Mag grimaced. "No. Not at all. In fact, everyone's become even more divided. We just have developed better weapons so we don't need shinobi anymore."

Sakura looked up at the ceiling. "Then… Do you know if someone named Naruto ever becomes Hokage?"

Mag looked away, leaning her hand into her cheek. Then she shrugged. "I don't know. I never did like history class."

"That's alright." Mag yawned, closing her eyes.

"I guess we just have to wait for my nutcase friend to come."

* * *

Kim wanted down. She really wanted down. She constantly felt like she was about to be dropped, or sent flying. The ride was much rougher than even a car on an extremely bumpy trail. She was starting to feel sick. _Thank goodness I've had nothing to eat or I might just end up barfing all over this guy. _

She found it so ironic that she of all people would wind up in some dumb Japanese Cartoon. Why not her daughter since it was practically all she dreamed up? For one, Kim barely knew anything about the anime. She knew some things because her daughter gushed about it all the time. But even then she hardly ever listens to her daughter when she gets like that.

She hoped she was at least in the Naruto where they're not all little brats. What was it called again? Naruto Shipped? No… Shippuden? Yeah, that was it. She'd go insane if they were all stupid little overdramatic kids. Of course, she thought all anime were way too overdramatic. And she couldn't stand their music. She shivered at the very thought of those high pitched wails they often let out. Complete jumbled nonsense to her.

What was she going to do, anyway? She didn't have money, she couldn't read, she didn't know anyone… She shook her head. She was doomed. Maybe the paper had more helpful information to it? But she couldn't read it. Kakashi could…

"Hey, uh, Kakashi?"

He glanced down at her with his one eye. "Did the paper say anything else? Because- Uh, I lost my glasses somewhere and I have terrible eyesight. I'm just wondering."

He shrugged. "Where you live, where you work. Not that I remember." She hid a grimace. The way he said it makes him sound like a creeper. But hey! She had a house! Key…? Crap. Maybe it was unlocked… Maybe there'd be money inside. And she had a job? That was good.

In the distance she could make out a giant wall. Her heart raced with excitement. They were almost there! She could find food and water! She lay down. A smile spread across her face in relief. She'd have to thank Kakashi big time for this. It would have taken her all day, maybe even all night to get here.

The last stretch was pretty quiet. Kakashi didn't appear to be much of a talker, and, well, neither was she. To strangers at least. She was fine with it. Mentally she was worrying quite a bit. How would she find her house? Or where she worked? She didn't really want to let just anyone know where she lived and such. Just find a friendly face, she supposed.

Ten or twenty minutes later they arrived. He let her down. She wobbled at first, dizzy. Then she turned to thank him. "Kakashi, I can't thank you enough for this. Just thank you so much!" She gave him a sincere smile.

He nodded and saluted a goodbye before disappearing. "Hello miss, may I confirm your identity?" someone asked nearby. She turned to see two men sitting behind a booth. They probably wanted to check her paper. Smiling she handed it to them.

They wrote down her name on a clipboard and handed it back to her. "There you go Ando-san. Welcome back."

"Yeah…" It was weird getting a welcome back to a place you've never been. And what was with the Ando-san? San was a Japanese suffix right? She couldn't recall what it meant. Was Ando her last name? Well, it did seem similar to her real one.

She started walking through the village. All the buildings looked like something out of _Spirited Away_. She chuckled. In a way, it seemed she had been spirited away. Most of the people wore traditional Japanese clothes, or shirts with shorts like her.

Then she came across a flower shop. Flower shops would probably have friendly people, right? She entered, hoping the cashier would be someone nice looking so she could ask about what the paper said.

The girl behind the counter actually looked familiar. Kim was almost sure she was a main character. Just the other day Mag had forced her to watch a few episodes of _Naruto _and had pointed out all the main characters. She just hoped this one was nice.

"Hello there, miss. I was wondering if you could help me."

The blond girl smiled at her. "Sure, what do you need? Are you looking for flowers for a boy? Or maybe for someone who's sick?"

Kim shook her head. "No, actually I need directions. I haven't been here in a very long time and I don't know where to find my house. And I can't read the paper the address is written on because of my poor eyesight."

"Oh," she looked a little disappointed. "Sure, of course I'll help you."

Kim took out the paper and handed it to her. It was starting to look crumpled.

The girl scanned over it quickly before giving it back. "Wow, that one's the pretty far out. I didn't think anyone lived there." Kim furrowed her eyebrows impatiently.

"Oh, really? Well, could you tell me how to get there?"

"Actually, why don't I just show you? To tell you the truth, I've dying for a break all day."

Kim smiled. "Would you? That's be great."

Ino held up her finger for her to wait and disappeared behind the back. When she emerged a minute later an older woman was with her. Ino headed for the entrance while the woman went behind the counter. "C'mon, uh…"

"Kim."

"Oh, Kim-san. I'm Ino Yamanaka by the way."

Kim followed after her and the two began wandering through the village. Unlike Kakashi, Kim soon found out, this girl was very talkative.

"So you said you've been gone for a while. Where've you been?"

_Uh… Think of something! _"I was living with some relatives. They were old and sick and needed some help. I was with them for several long years until they passed away last month."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. They lived good lives."

"So… Do you have any kids?"

Kim's thoughts flashed to her daughter. "Yes… I had a daughter, but I lost her not long ago."

Ino's expression was pity. "I'm…. sorry." Maybe that would keep her quiet for a while.

They walked quietly through the people, past buildings and restaurants. Strange smells filled Kim's nose. It smelled good and made her stomach growl. Hopefully if she had a house she's have money or something and could get some food.

"So you have a job as a painter?" So much for the silence.

Kim glanced at Ino in confusion. "It said so on your papers. You paint people's houses and stuff."

Kim hesitantly nodded. "Yeah."

"Sorry if I was prying."

Kim shrugged. It was good to know. She noticed they were passing by fewer and fewer buildings. Did she really live in a place so far away from everyone? How different from the city.

"There it is," Ino stated. She was pointing to a beaten-up looking house atop a hill. A few other somewhat abandoned buildings were near it. _Lovely,_ Kim thought.

"Wow, I almost don't recognize it," Kim said with a nervous laugh. Ino nodded.

"I can imagine." Ino yawned "Well, I guess I should be getting back to work. Maybe I'll see you later Kim-san." She waved and turned to leave.

"Alright. Thank you for your help."

"No problem," Ino called, already becoming distant.

Kim started trekking up the hill. The yard was in ruins, with weeds and overgrown grass. One of the windows looked smashed. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. She wouldn't want to live here if she had any choice.

Coming up to the door she tried the handle. Surprisingly, it was locked. She didn't think a beat up place like this would even need a lock. Praying there was key around here she got on her knees and searched through the bushes. As luck would have it, there was a key on the right bush, just out of sight.

She put it in the lock and it turned smoothly with a click. Smirking at her luck she entered. The inside was nothing like the outside. It was almost _clean_ and had furniture, it was almost as if someone lived here. _I guess I do,_ she thought.

There was a couch and a coffee table by the entrance. On the table was a pair of glasses. She picked them up and tried them on. They were perfect. She smiled in glee. She hadn't been entirely lying when she'd told those people her eyesight was bad. Not as bad as she made it out to be, of course, but still bad.

"I wonder where all this stuff came from," she mumbled curiously. She ran her finger along the table, and then studied her finger tip. It was clean. Not a speck of dust.

She began to explore. The kitchen was fully equipped, and the refrigerator was somewhat stocked. It didn't have much, just a few fruits and vegetables, and she found instant ramen in the cupboards. None of them were bad. It was as if someone had been expecting her.

Then exhaustion swept over her. The day's events finally caught up to her. Finding a glass she filled it up with cool, clean water. She gulped half of it down and went in search of the bedroom. After today, some of her blond hair would most certainly be gray.

It took a couple tries. First she found a closet, and then a bathroom- which she promptly used- and then finally the bedroom. The bed was no mattress. It looked more like a sleeping bag. But a bed was a bed. Gratefully she shut the blinds and curled up in her dirty clothes. In minutes she was asleep.

* * *

The doorbell rang, surprising Sakura. They looked up from their game of Monopoly. Sakura couldn't read the words, but luckily Monopoly wasn't a word heavy game. She was suspicious; however, that Mag was cheating. Mag was far in the lead. She claimed it was because she'd played the game often.

"I'll get it." Mag scrambled up and trotted to the door. She opened it, already knowing who it was. A black haired girl with green-blue eyes stood in the doorway. She was wearing a black and red striped shirt with a black tutu and black skull leggings. Her boots reached to her knees.

"Yo, Ray."

"Hey. She peered behind Mag, seeing the pink haired kunoichi. She'd seen Mag cosplay as her a few times. "That's one good cosplay." Mag sighed and pushed her friend out the door.

"I'll be right back Sakura."

"Okay."

She went outside and shut the door behind her. "Look, that's really Sakura. I'm sure of it. And by the way, she doesn't know she comes from a manga. I might've told her this was the future… So play along okay?"

Ray shrugged. "Okay. But you're the one who's going to be in trouble with the ninja finds out you lied to her."

That was true. Because she _was_ going to find out eventually. She's a ninja after all. Not just anyone could lie to a ninja and expect to get away with it. "Yeah well… I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. It was morning, I was tired. I don't like to explain complicated things early in the morning."

Yawning Ray pointed to the door. "So are we going to hang out or what?"

Mag nodded. The two returned to the house and sat next to Sakura. "Sakura, this is Ray. Ray, this is Sakura."

"It's nice to meet you," Sakura said, extending a hand.

"Why's your hair pink?" Sakura frowned, taking back her rejected hand. Mag nudged Ray in the side, roughly. "Ow!"

"I was born this way." Sakura grimaced. Ray just rolled her eyes. She jumped up suddenly, pointing at their game.

"What're you guys playing?"

"Monopoly," Sakura and Mag replied in unison.

Ray raised an eyebrow at Mag. She was another one of those Monopoly-haters. Mag had trouble sometimes finding someone to play with because just about everyone hated the game. But Ray let it go and looked around. "Where's Shi-chan at, anyway?"

"Shi-chan?" Sakura asked.

Mag looked at her in embarrassment. "It's my cat. The one that woke you up this morning."

"Oh. That little guy? Her name is Shi-chan? That's cute." Sakura smiled.

"Thanks. Anyway, to answer your question, I don't know. She's been hiding all day. You must have really scared her Sakura."

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, it wasn't your fault."

"So… Ray, you want to play Monopoly with us," invited Sakura. Ray shook her head, her face sour.

"I hate that game. We could take turns playing chess, how does that sound?"

"Chess?"

"I think it's similar to shougi," Mag explained.

"Oh. Well, I guess we could play that."

"I'll go get the chess board," Mag announced. She left Ray and Sakura to sit alone while she went to the hallway closet.

When she came back, game in hand, the two had put away the Monopoly board and all the cards. "Thanks."

She put the chess board down and set up all its pieces, explaining what each one did to Sakura. "Ray and I will have a game to show you how it's done, okay?"

Sakura nodded in response. Mag motioned for Ray to start. Ray moved a white pawn from the middle-side two spaces forward. Mag moved the piece diagonal from her queen.

Soon the girls were going back and forth, taking each other pawns. The first non-sacrificial piece to be won was Ray's bishop. Mag smirked. Ray stuck out her tongue.

As they played they began a conversation. "So in that story we're writing, how should I die?"

"Good question. Should you die protecting me?" Although they were referring to themselves, they were talking about a story based on their own daydreams, and thus the characters were named and based off each other.

"No… I think I should remain self-centered until the very end. Besides, even if I do come to care about you, I would still remember that I only saved you to use as a pawn."

"Yeah, you've got a point. Should you go insane like that character from that murder anime?"

Ray laughed. "No. Keep in mind, my character is quite dignified. Ooh! I know what would be perfect!"

"What?" Mag, asked. She glanced lazily at the chess board. "Check."

"Oh, phooey, that's no fun," she used her queen to shield the king. "Anyway, I think I should be sitting in throne in my castle with all the candles out, next to a chess board. When they come to kill me, I should smile, say something witty, and tip over my own king right before they kill me."

Mag grinned. "That's sounds awesome! Now how about me? How should I die?" She moved her castle down the board.

"Are you sure you should die? Maybe you could take over for me."

"Nah, I don't think I'd stand a chance once you were overthrown. Besides, I am your humble servant, sworn to protect you. If you die that means I have failed my job and have lost my purpose in life. I think I should go on one final mission to destroy their 'king' and die right after I succeed."

Ray shrugged. "Not bad, I guess." She grimaced as Mag took her king. "Aw man."

Mag smiled. "Check mate." She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to make some lunch. Who's up for cheese ravioli?"

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"It's pasta with cheese in it. Sorry about the lack of meat but I'm a vegetarian."

"Oh, that's fine with me."

"Same here," Ray agreed.

"Okay. Sakura, go ahead and play Ray. Maybe you can beat her too." Ray stuck her tongue out at Mag.

Even though Mag was terrible at cooking, ravioli was one thing she could do. All you had to do was dump it in boiling water and wait for it to rise to the top. Simple and easy.

She could hear Sakura and Ray talking in the background. "So you're a ninja, huh?"

"Yeah, I am."

"That's cool. Ever killed anyone?"

Sakura looked taken aback by the question. "Ray, don't be rude!" Mag yelled.

Ray huffed. "Well, yes, a few times. It happens."

"Awesome," Ray exclaimed.

"Since when is killing people awesome, Ray?" Mag asked.

"I don't know. It just sounds so lawless, yeah!" She burst into mad giggles. "Check!"

"Uh… What do I do?" Sakura asked. Mag phased them out and looked for a strainer. She sat it in the sink and turned off the stove. She dumped the hot ravioli into it and drained the water. "Which do you guys want, tomato sauce or alfredo?"

"Alfredo please," Ray said.

"I don't know what alredo is… So tomato sauce if you don't mind."

"Okie dokey." She got out three bowls and put an equal amount of pasta in each. Two she put the white sauce and the other red.

Balancing all the bowls in her hands she carried them out into the living room. "So Mag, where's your mom?"

Mag grimaced, sending Ray a look that said she was worried. "I don't know, I'll tell you later."

She gave each of them a bowl with a fork and munched away on her own pasta. "Who won?"

"_I _did," Ray said emphatically. Mag rolled her eyes.

"Did you at least go easy on her? She's never played before." Ray 'hmph'd', taking a bite of ravioli.

"Actually I almost got her in check three times," Sakura said proudly. "This ravioli is really good."

"Almost means you didn't."

"Calm down," Mag whined.

Sakura crossed her arms looking undignified, and stared at the wall. "Ray, when are you leaving again?"

"Why? Can't wait to get rid of me? Muahahaha!" She checked her watched. "Half an hour." Mag nodded.

"Okay. Why don't we play charades?"

"Charades? Isn't that for kids?" Sakura asked.

Ray and Mag shrugged. "We think its fun," they said.

"Well… If you say so."

"I'll go get the charade stuff," Mag said. She ran off into the other room.

"Charade stuff?"

"Scraps of paper with stuff written on them that you draw and act out."

"Oh right."

"Also, we don't really play charades right. We just literally act it out. We don't do that 'two words', 'four syllables' stuff."

"Okay," Sakura confirmed, nodding.

Mag returned with a plastic baggy full of crumpled bits of paper. "Okay, who wants to go first?"

"I do!" Ray sang, acting like the teenager she was. Mag held out the bag for her.

Ray swooshed her hand around inside for several long seconds before pulling out a fist. She carefully unfolded the paper and read it before tossing it aside, out of sight. "Wait, props or no props?"

Mag shrugged. "Props," she voted. Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

Ray nodded. She then began punching the air and swinging her head as if dodging blows.

"Boxer!" Mag shouted. She shook her head.

"Um… Um! Taijutsu!" Ray stopped and gave her a look like 'what the heck? English please' before shaking her head and resuming. Then she jumped to face the other side, and began throwing kicks.

"Karate!"

"A Fight!"

"Bingo," Ray declared with a smile. "Good job Pinky."

"Don't call me Pinky…" Ray smirked. Mag held out the bag for Sakura. She grabbed one right off the top.

After she read it her face got a really annoyed expression as she tossed it over by Ray's.

"Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Ray screamed. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"You got it." Now Mag was surprised.

"No way! What are the chances a real ninja would draw the ninja…. Did you cheat?"

"No! Why would I do that?"

"Because it's so obvious you're a ninja no one would actually guess it! But you didn't count on the fact that Ray is very… Unpredictable."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Right. Anyway, it's your turn."

She took the bag from Mag and held it open to her. Mag shoved her hand in and quickly picked one out. She stood on the other side of the coffee table and read it before tossing it aside. This one would be fun.

She gasped, clutching her chest with an expression of pain. She even made her eyes water. Slowly she fell to her knees gasping.

"Heart attack!" Ray shouted.

"Wounded!"

She continued to gasp before completely falling to the ground and closing her eyes.

"Dying!" Sakura screamed.

"Yup!" Mag said with a cheery smile, picking herself off the ground.

Ray's phone dinged and a car honked outside. "I think I have to go." She waved and headed for the door.

"Well, she was interesting."

"I know. Sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with her," Mag said with a sigh. "Hey Sakura, I was wondering… How do you plan to get back?"

"Huh? Oh… You mean return to my time? I really have no idea. If I knew how I got here that might help. But I don't know anything. For now I'm just going to have to wait. Sorry if I'm troubling you."

Mag gave her a comforting smile. "It's no trouble at all. After all, I get to meet a real live ninja."

"I can't imagine how exciting _that _must be. Just about everyone where I come from see and hear about ninja on a day to day basis."

Mag got up and began collecting the dishes. "I'm really jealous. I'd give anything to live in that time period. _Anything_," she repeated. It was true. That was a life of adventure. She knew that it was filled with tragedy, death, suffering, and hatred. But she still wanted it. This life was so plain and boring. Nothing particularly exciting ever happens. Too many laws that caged a person in- locked up with all the criminals who chose to disobey those laws.

She rinsed off the dishes and put them in the dish washer. "Really? Isn't there anything you want to do here?"

"If I have to I want to become a writer. It's nothing exciting. But I'm also considering becoming a police officer."

"Well, a police officer sounds exciting."

Mag shrugged. "I hear they take care of a lot of little problems like car wrecks and break-ins. Things that happen all the time."

"I see."

Mag finally just shook her head. "Why don't we pick out some clothes for you to wear. We can treat this situation like a sleep over. I haven't had too many of those, but I know I love them."

"Sure, that sounds fun." Sakura got up from the couch and followed Mag into her mom's room.

"I think I'm only a couple years younger than you, but I'm small so maybe my mom's clothes will fit you."

"She won't mind, will she?"

"Nah, I'm sure she'll be fine with it." Mag opened up the closet. "Just go ahead and pick something."

Sakura nodded and then hesitated. "You're really sure?" Mag shook her head yes.

Sakura began to scramble through the clothes, wrinkling her nose at how bland they were. Mag had to admit her mom had no sense of style. Not that her style was particularly normal.

"Find anything you can wear tomorrow?"

"I guess so." She pulled out a white short-sleeved V-neck and white shorts.

"Good." Mag peeked her head in, before pulling out some pajamas. "Here, you can wear these tonight."

"Great. So what should we do now?"

Mag looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm… I don't know… Sleep over stuff?"

"We could give each other make overs," Sakura suggested. Mag refrained from grimacing. Make up was not her thing.

"Hair and nails only." Sakura pouted, but nodded.

"Alright. Deal."

They left and headed into Mag's freshly cleaned room. "It's looked different from this morning," Sakura commented.

"Yeah, I did a little cleaning…" Mag headed over to a little mini-drawer on her desk. Inside were a few bottles of nail polish. Just some reds, blues and other dark colors. Sakura might be okay with red. She grabbed them all and tossed them on her bed. "Pick out a color. I get a towel to put under our hands."

"Okay." Mag disappeared to the bathroom and came back quickly, a small hand towel draped over her arm.

"I'll go with this red… Don't you have lighter colors?"

"Nope. I'm not a big fan of light colors."

"Weird."

"I don't think so."

"So what color will you pick?"

"Blue. And black. I'll alternate them."

"Interesting."

"I'm not that good at painting nails, let me warn you. But I'll try to be careful."

"Okay, thanks for the warning."

And the two began to paint each other's nails. Mag tried to be extra careful so as to not mess up the kunoichi's nails. When she was finished she smiled proudly at her work. There were only a few smears and overall wasn't too bad. "Finished."

"Not bad," Sakura said. "So what pattern did you want for yours, since you have two colors?"

"Opposites. On my right hand I want the black to be on my thumb, index, and middle finger, and reversed with blue on my left hand." She muttered and okay and began painting.

"Hey Sakura, are you… scared?"

She looked up in confusion. "Scared? Why would I be scared?"

"Because you're here, and you don't know how to get back. Or maybe… Scared isn't the word? Are you sad? You don't know if you'll ever see the people you care about again."

The corners of her mouth twitched down. "I… Guess I am a little. But I don't think it's really hit me yet."

Mag gazed at her nails as Sakura painted. She was smooth, not a speck of the nail polish came onto her skin. Considering she'd never seen Sakura's nails painted before she wondered how she'd become so expertise. _I wonder if I'll ever see my mom again._

"I'm done." Mag inspected her hand before giving Sakura an approving grin.

"They're perfect. Thanks."

"No problem. Shall we get to doing hair?" Even though her mom wasn't here, at least she wasn't alone.

"Yup!"

* * *

**Nano Rain: So what did you think? Yes, I know it got boring there at the end but I started to get writersblock...**


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